//------------------------------// // Meet the Grandparent // Story: Meet the Family // by Thunderscourge //------------------------------// A/N: Thank you to Sagebrony07, SwimmingDalek98. themouthofmush, Trouble Cleft, fatboi1000, Drgnwolf, DragoDog21, Sean De Retro, Killabyte, BenRG, Shadow_Wolf, D48, Shrinky Frod, Rokas, Chaos Eclipsed, shynight, John 117, Rocket0007, Alaborn, Vernerok87, maskedferret, jlm123hi, TropicalWings, Darkiepie, and Graf Seppelin for your comments, and especially The_Whovian16, who left me the longest comment/review I think I have ever seen or received!. Your comments really have helped me and I am infinitely grateful. I hope you will continue to enjoy, and that I may hear from you and others in the comment section below. Please enjoy, and let an exhausted college student know what you think in the comments! Given that only two of her closest friends had wings, her parents gave her an appropriate amount of space, and that her home was on a cloud, Rainbow was not used to actually having to answer the door. She and Soarin were both taking the day off from work after the whole debacle with their Captain, and so she was actually home to hear the polite knocking on it. Scootaloo was away at school, so it was not as if she could send her to get it and Soarin was sleeping in their bed. It was under these very specific circumstances that Rainbow Dash found herself getting up from the couch and tending to whoever decided to stop by. She originally guessed it would be some delivery pony, perhaps even the ditzy Derpy, asking for a signature on a package that was probably not even addressed to anyone who lived at the house. Opening the door instead revealed an elderly stallion in a suit that she remembered quite well. Rainbow brought a hoof back to rub the back of her head as she opened the door more so she could stand in that space, “Uh, hey? What’s up Alph?” The butler pony gave a polite bow to her, “Hello miss. Is the master home?” “Yeah, he’s in our room resting. You need to see him?” Rainbow asked while pointing a hoof towards the back of the house where a staircase lay. He gave a similarly polite nod to her, “If he is asleep it can wait. Would it be any trouble if I were to stay until he rises?” Not about to turn away a nice pony who Soarin was attached to, Rainbow opened the door more and made room for him to enter, “Sure, I guess. Come on in.” Upon entering, All Thread made a quick appraisal of the house’s inside condition. Dust coated some lesser used objects and pictures, a scooter lay strewn across the entrance floor, and the furniture appeared as if it had never once been cleaned. This was saying something, as he had done just that during his last visit. Work was to be done at some point. Noticing how closely he was observing everything, Rainbow gave a quiet laugh as she attempted to be a good host, “Uh, anything I can get you?” His attention snapped back to the mare at his side, “I can make us tea if you so please.” The blue mare laughed at the mention of the foreign substance, “I don’t think I can even remember the last time I had tea. Or if I even like it. I’m not about to stop you though. Kitchen’s over there.” The butler entered the room Rainbow was referring to and it took serious self restraint to not quarantine the area. After all, he was only a guest, and did not wish to overstep his bounds. “This will require some work.” “Do whatever you need to man,” Rainbow chortled as she followed him in, “So, what’s up? Any reason you’re visiting in particular?” All Thread began going about gathering the necessary supplies to make tea as he answered, not wasting a moment as he got to work, “Master Soarin sustained a severe injury I have heard. Given his age, it will require greater care than just time.” The mention of her fiancé’s age made Rainbow blush, “He’s not an old-timer you know.” All Thread, being of advanced age himself, could not agree more. Soarin had a great deal of life ahead of him after only three decades, “You would be correct, but his injury will not heal as quickly as he is likely accustomed to. Such is the issue with aging.” Rainbow sat in a chair around the room’s main table, curious what the brew he was making would taste like, “You seem pretty good for an old guy yourself, so I guess you know what you’re talking about.” Not comfortable with receiving praise, All Thread changed the subject so that it was instead on the lady of the house, “Word is that you stood up against his team when they unscrupulously dropped him even though it would further your own career. It seems master Soarin has found a true partner.” Rainbow let out a short sigh at the mention of Spitfire and Fleetfoot’s actions, finding solace in that Soarin had always been her favorite even when she was a diehard Wonderbolt fangirl, “I’m the element of loyalty. I couldn’t just betray him like that, or my own team. I’ll always put those I care about first if that’s what it comes down to.” All Thread kept a frown from unprofessionally growing on his face, “If only that was a quality the master’s parents could admire. I am afraid they care only for wealth and status.” Rainbow scoffed and leant back in the chair so that it was teetering on its back two legs, “Well I don’t really care about them. I didn’t have a clue about his parents when I began dating Soarin, and them being rich snobs doesn’t change anything.” A yawn was the only warning of another pony’s entrance to the room, “Hey Rainbow-“ the recently awoken Soarin felt his tiredness jump from him as he saw that Rainbow was not the only other pony in the room, “All Thread?” The butler continued to prepare the tea, giving a small bow the first moment it became convenient, “Hello sir. How are you faring today?” “Just fine, thanks. What’s up?” Soarin parroted Rainbow without realizing it. Once again, All Thread let his purpose be known, “I came to help assist your wing’s recovery, if you will let me.” Soarin flexed the wing and thought back to what the doctors said about it, “It was doing just fine, but I wouldn’t mind if you helped make sure it gets better. Nothing worse than a wing healing the wrong way.” Glad that that was agreed upon, All Thread continued his work intently, “I will finish making this tea and then tend to your wound.” After the tea was served and Rainbow left to get her daily exercise in, Soarin found himself alone with his old companion. Given his nature, the butler remained silent and simply tended to the living room that Soarin drank his tea in, cleaning the place so that it was less unbearable for those in the cleanliness business. Soarin, on the other hand, did not want to be left in an awkward silence with another pony. He was determined to find out why his old friend was dropping by more often than even Rainbow’s parents recently, "Hey All Thread, I was just wondering if I could ask you a question." "Anything you wish, young master. After all, you did just ask one and I daresay you may just follow up with another," was the polite but dry response, All Thread having quite the dry wit. Soarin could not help but be amused by the servile snarker he knew so well, "Why are you here? I mean, I know that you care about me, and I'm grateful, but…" Putting down the cleaning utensil Soarin had not even known they had in the house, All Thread gave a small sigh similar to the one Rainbow had emitted upon the subject of Soarin’s parents. "If you must know, I have terminated my employment with your parents." That suddenly made a lot of sense to Soarin, who never once prior thought of the elder pony retiring given his dutiful nature but now could understand given his life experiences, "Oh, so you retired?" All Thread shook his head no as he resumed cleaning, "Retiring is not something I desire to do. I just intend to follow my family's tradition of serving your own in my own way." It took a moment, but Soarin wasn’t oblivious enough to miss the unsubtle hint given. The Wonderbolt gaped as he put the puzzle pieces together, "Wait, you want to work for me?" "As observant as always, sir." Soarin was unsure about what to say. On the one hoof, having a butler to help him and Rainbow out would be nothing short of amazing especially with Scootaloo in the mix. On the other, butlers were hired and thus paid. While Soarin and Rainbow were both Wonderbolts, the highest paid fliers around, Soarin had never factored in possibly paying somepony else. As the one who managed the bills, he tried to run numbers through his head as he spoke. "I don't know Alth, I don't know how Rainbow and I could pay you. We're well off, but I never even thought about possibly paying somepony else's salary." All Thread continued to clean as he spoke, not making eye contact, "I only require a place to sleep and food to eat. I have earned quite a fortune in my employ to your parents, not a bit of which I have spent." This new factor turned a possibility into a sure deal from Soarin’s perspective, "Let me talk to Rainbow about it, but I'd so appreciate having you around the house. Things have been getting a bit more chaotic since we took Scootaloo in, and an extra hand couldn't hurt." All Thread gave a bow to his new ‘employer’, not even smiling to keep his professional appearance, "Thank you, sir." “And you know that you can stop calling me that, right?” “Of course, sir.” After Rainbow returned from her exercising, Soarin pulled her aside in the house away from where All Thread continued to tidy everything in sight up. "Uh, Rainbow, I have something I need to talk to you about." Dash stretched out her legs and wings, feeling a bit sore from the workout she did, "What is it?" "All Thread was wondering if he could maybe possibly be our butler." All stretching stopped as she stated, not asked, "What." Soarin could feel her apprehension, so he tried to explain the situation the best he could, "He quit working for my parents so he could instead work for us. Free of charge, with the only catch being that he would live here." It took less than a moment for Rainbow to shrug and smile at Soarin, "Sure. We got an extra room down here and this place is way too big for us to clean by ourselves. It’ll make taking care of Scootaloo easier too." Soarin brought himself forward to embrace his fiancé tightly with the biggest smile on his face, "Thank you Dash!" Rainbow tried to play it off coolly, "He's a good guy. Wouldn't want to disappoint him." Rainbow was not the only one to return home, or to be surprised about seeing All Thread that day. Scootaloo dropped off her saddlebags by the front door when she first peeked into the living room and noticed a familiar but still unfamiliar pony there. Soarin, having been the one to pick her up, quickly was questioned about this, "Dad, what’s Alth doing here? Did Sweetie Belle set something on fire again while I wasn’t around?” Having kept the matter a surprise for her, Soarin grinned smugly as Scootaloo in a befuddled manner watched the butler clean their house a second time, “No, not this time. Alth is going to be staying here as our personal butler though.” Scootaloo looked up to him as if he was joking, knowingly that her parents did indeed love a good practical joke, "Wait, really?” after receiving a positive nod, Scootaloo fluttered up into the air excitedly, “Woohoo!" Being a child, Scootaloo’s first action thereafter was to rush over to All Thread and greet him as Soarin trailed behind with a snicker. "Hey, remember me? I’m Scootaloo!” The butler let his façade down for moment to smile at the child, “It is nice to see you again, young mistress.” Rainbow made her way into the room and embraced Scootaloo to greet the filly. While she did this she gave a mischievous look to the orange furred girl, “Watch out for when she uses her eyes to try and sway you to do what she wants, Alth.” “I don’t do it that much!” Scootaloo pouted with her front hooves crossed, not liking the accusation and how truthful it was. This revelation did little to faze the experienced butler, “No need to worry, I have resisted master Soarin’s own attempts in the past.” Rainbow tried to keep herself from breaking down into a laughing fit as she looked at Soarin, “Wait, you did it too?” He cast his eyes to the side, “Who remembers?” “I, for one,” All Thread snarkily responded in his polite tone, “By chance, does the young mistress require any assistance going to and coming from school?” Rainbow looked down to Scootaloo and nuzzled her face against her, beginning to understand her own mother’s fascination with physical gestures, “Not really, but it wouldn’t hurt if you picked her up tomorrow would it?” “It would be my pleasure. Shall I begin preparing tonight’s dinner?” Soarin felt his stomach rumble, bringing him to the realization he hadn’t really had a breakfast or lunch, “That’d be great, actually. Need a hoof?” All Thread wiped his clothes off before placing his cleaning utensils down and heading towards the room’s exit, “Not at all sir, although I thank you for your offer. I will be sure to make something the young mistress can find palatable while being nutritious.” Scootaloo stuck her tongue out disgustedly, “Bleh, nutrition.” Upon seeing the glare of her mother, this was quickly amended. Scootaloo gave a weak hoof pump into the air, “I mean, yay, broccoli.” Hours later the small family sat around the dining table with plates of varying degrees of finished food, all of whom appeared very content. All Thread had not originally set a place for himself at the table, but Soarin had cajoled him until he did so. The Butler ate with grace that neither Scootaloo or Rainbow Dash ever had or would have, and that Soarin had forgotten in his long detachment from his parents. He felt odd eating with the others, but the relaxed atmosphere helped him out of his own comfort zone in the matter. After finishing his own food, Soarin leant back in his chair contently. “It’s good to taste what real food’s like again!” Scootaloo snickered as Rainbow instantly glared at her fiancé, partially self conscious about her cooking especially when it came to Soarin’s opinion of it. She knew he was the better cook, not that it mattered now with an experienced chef preparing their meals, but she still had her pride. Soarin verbally backpedaled, realizing his mistake too late, “Not that your cooking isn’t real or delicious. I, uh…” All Thread picked up on the vibe coming from Rainbow Dash as he touched his handkerchief to his face and wiped food out of his small mustache, “Does the mistress wish for me to withhold the master’s dessert for the night?” Rainbow was already beginning to like their new addition, “That sounds good. Wouldn’t want you too get too fat off this real food, honey.” Soarin felt tears welling up in his eyes as he thought about whatever great food he was going to miss, “Awww…” Rainbow ignored his pity look that she was sure he taught Scootaloo and instead looked to All Thread with a raised brow, “What did you make anyways? I didn’t even think we had anything to make.” His voice remained neutral as he sardonically replied, “The necessary ingredients for a blueberry pie were available, I regret to inform the master. It was his favorite.” With a sniff of the air, Rainbow quickly caught the scent of a freshly baked pie and confirmed what he said. The smell was delectable, and a theory popped into Rainbow’s mind as a result, “So is he the reason you like pie so much?” Soarin hung his head resignedly, still broken over the lack of pie he would get, “Yeah…” Rainbow rolled her eyes and let out a breath, not really mad but enjoying messing with him all the same, “Fine then. One slice.” “I love you so much,” Soarin leant over to Dash and kissed her on the face, receiving one in kind. Scootaloo gagged at the sight, “Bleh, icky,” she looked below the table, “Right Tank?” All Thread too looked beneath the table and found himself surprised to see a tortoise sitting there with a propeller strapped to its back. Given the broccoli it was munching on, he could only assume it had been fed from the table. Since he had been sure to watch Scootaloo eat her own healthy food, that meant that the culprit was either of the other two adults. All Thread sighed as he thought about how childish even full grown ponies could act, “I see there is a family pet. Does it require any special arrangements?” Rainbow shook negatively, “Nah, Tanks usually good. He comes and goes all day, and he isn’t that much of a big eater. Just got to fix his gear every now and then.” Soarin snorted as he looked beneath the table at the tortoise, “Yeah, I barely see him and I live here now!” Removing his handkerchief and placing it on the table, All Thread stood up and approached the counter where the pie rested. Soarin salivated as his old friend and caretaker cut into it and separated it into pieces, placing one piece on each of three plates. He then brought it over to the table and handed one piece to Scootaloo and Rainbow each. He held on to the last piece until he finished speaking, faintly mocking Soarin in a joking manner, “Here is your pie, sir. One piece as requested.” Soarin tried to whisper to All Thread, but given all of their proximity it was still completely audible, “You and I both know I could finish that whole thing.” All Thread’s reaction to this was to walk over to the rest of the pie and retrieve a slice for himself, but no extra ones for Soarin, “Yes, I do sir.” Rainbow cheekily smiled at Soarin, who was busy grumbling under his breath about betrayal, “I say he should get employee of the month.” “And such great competition I have,” All Thread commented as he sat back down at the table and prepared to eat once more, ignoring the pouty face Soarin was giving him. It did not work two decades prior and it would not work now. The following day, All Thread kept to his word and arrived at Scootaloo’s school right at its end. He quickly picked out the orange and purple filly out of her classmates in the school’s courtyard, and he approached her the moment a path could be made through the children swarming the area. "Hello young mistress. Are you ready?" Scootaloo grinned brightly and tapped her bags, "I'm all ready. Thanks Alth!" The two fillies beside her, a white unicorn and a yellow earth pony, gaped at the sight of All Thread to his confusion. Had they never seen a butler before? As if to answer his question, the earth pony nudged Scootaloo, "Is that…is that a butler?" "Yup!" Scootaloo chipperly replied, running over to All Thread’s side with the huge grin still plastered on her face. The unicorn continued to gape, "But even Rarity doesn't have a butler! How do you have one?" All Thread bowed to the two fillies who were obviously friends of his mistress, "I have been serving master Soarin's family since I was about your ages. I am All Thread." Scootaloo wrapped a hoof around one of his front legs, "He's like a part of the family who also doesn't mind cooking and cleaning for us! He's totally awesome." All Thread looked down to the filly, "We should be returning soon, mistress, if we are to make sure you finish your homework." Scootaloo’s friends snickered, so she defensively asked, "What? He cares and that's what matters!" Scootaloo released his leg and turned to leave in a huff. All Thread first gave a small bow to the two fillies before following after his new mistress, “Farewell.” It did not take him long to catch up given the difference in leg length between him and his young charge. Upon doing so, Scootaloo turned and looked up to him, something having crossed the young filly’s mind. “So, you helped raise dad?” she innocently inquired. All Thread recounted Soarin’s childhood and thought about how to best put it. The poor colt had barely spent one hundredth the time with his family that most others his age would have, and had spent more time being looked after than cared for. After some planning, All Thread decided how he could best put it for her, “I was his caretaker while his parents attended their various high society functions. I daresay I have spent a significant more amount of time with him than they have.” That raised another question for the filly, “What are they like? I haven’t met them, and mom and dad don’t talk about them at all.” All Thread did his best to not frown. To keep the professional look up in front of the young filly, “They are very different than your father, I regret to inform you.” “Oh, so they’re rich snobs like my classmate Diamond Tiara?” Scootaloo questioned with a small snarl at the end. Noticing her attitude, All Thread could only assume this Diamond Tiara was a rotten egg. “I must assume so.” Scootaloo’s young mind had another idea crop up in it that she needed an answer to, “So, if you helped raised dad…” as her voice trailed off, he nodded, which led to her continuing, “Then you’re like a grandfather, right?” All Thread had never considered himself Soarin’s father, even if he had been a proxy parent of sorts with his caretaking duties. He did not want to let the filly get the wrong idea, so he shook his head, “I only was doing my duty.” It did nothing to deter Scootaloo’s mind from going where it wanted to though, and the young filly wrapped her own hoof around his leg again, “Close enough.” A warm hoof around his own…the loving smile of a child… Perhaps, All Thread pondered, the idea was one he could become accustomed to.